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L.P IBTTE. APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND SEPARATING PIECES OF WOOD FOR A MANUFACTURE OF OELLULOSE.

No. 539,296. Pat ented May 14, 1895.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-.-Sheet 2. A L. PIETTE.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND SEPARATING PIECES OF WOOD FOR A MANUFACTURED? GELLULOSE.

No. 539,296. Patented May 14, 1895.

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, L. PIETTE. APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND SEPARATING PIECES OF WOOD FOR MANUFACTURE OF GELLU'LOSE.

No. 539,296. Patented May 14. '1895 mi umua mas w, mom-um WASHINDTON: n. a.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUDWIG PIETTE, OF PILSEN, AUSTRIA-HUN GARY.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND SEPARATING P|EC ES F WOOD FOR MANUFACTURE OF CELLULOSE;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 539,296, dated May 14, 1895.

Application filed January 12, 1895- ;Serial No. 534,67 3. (No model.) v

To all whom it may c0ncerm-- Be it known that I, LUDWIG PIETTE, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and a resident of Pilsen, Bohemia, Austria-Hunv gary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Sorting and Separating Pieces of Wood for the Manufacture of Cellulose, of which the followingis a specification.

IO My invention relates to apparatus for sorting pieces of wood to be used in the manufacture of cellulose.

Such pieces of wood being approximately of equal size are sorted according to their den- :5 sity so that the denser knottypieces andthe pieces of trunk wood immediately surrounding knots and which are unsuitable for the manufacture of'cellulose will be separated from the good pieces which are less dense.

2c The method which I use for this purpose consists in throwing the pieces of. wood at a considerable initial velocity through the air, the latter being perfectly immovable or moved at a small velocity in the opposite direction to that of the throw. As the pieces of wood are of equal size and thus meet with the same resistance of airduring the throw,'while the momentum of the less dense pieces which are suitable isvsmaller than that of the denser '30 pieces which are unsuitable, the length of throw will be less with the former than with the latter pieces, so that they will be separated from each other according to their density and suitability and that the selection'of 5 the knotty pieces by hand is completelyor almost entirely obviated. This method differs essentially from that in which a current of air passes in the direction of the throwbetween the pieces thrown and in which the length of throw must be the greater the less the density of the pieces. By the latter method a sufficiently accurate separation of the pieces cannot be achieved.

In the accompanying drawings I have rep- 5 resented an apparatus designed for carrying the aforesaid method into practice.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus partly in section. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 shows an end view of the troughs for the reception of the sorted pieces of wood.

Fig. 4 represents a modification of the throwing apparatus.

The appropriately reduced material is first introduced into one of the well known appa- From the parts 1, 2, 3 of the revolving sievethe suitable pieces of wood, being sorted according to size, pass on to endless aprons a and thence separately upon endless aprons b to the throwing apparatus. This apparatus consists of a roller W turned at a great speed and which is in contact with and drives an endless apron V conducted over guide rollers d and cl The wood falls from the endless apron or conveyer 17 between the roller W and the endless apron V and is thus carried away and acquires a great velocity. The

roller W may be replaced by an endless apron V which passes over guide rollers d (Fig. 4)

one of which is turned at a great velocity. At the great velocity thus obtained the pieces of wood are thrown beyond the guide roller d and fall into troughs K K K K K K K K K whose bottoms are formed byendless aprons e e e-which are set in motion in the longitudinal directionby rollers fff and convey the wood from the troughs to suitable receptacles. Not shown. Now as the length of throw of the pieces of wood is the shorter the less their density, the least dense pieces suitable for the production of pure cellulose will fall into the troughs K K K situated nearest to the rollers (1*, and pieces suitable for the production of inferior kinds of cellu lose will fall into the troughs K K K which pieces may if desired be further sorted by hand or by throwing them again in the described. manner, while the troughs K K K receive only knotty pieces or dense trunk wood surrounding knots, which are not suit-. able for the manufacture of cellulose.

The separation may if desired be'facilitated by a gentle current of air passed in the opposite direction to that of the pieces thrown this current being produced by blowers D arranged above the troughs.

In order to permit of the separate discharge of the sorted pieces, the bottoms of the troughs K K K K K K K K K following each other in the longitudinal direction are alternated in the transverse direction as shown.

I claim- 1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with means for assorting and separating the pieces of wood ac cording to size; of the devices for throwing the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size and assorting them according to weight and density, the said throwing devices each consisting of a loose endless apron V running on three rollers arranged in a triangular form, and mechanism for driving said apron V and for throwing said pieces of wood by centrifugal force off from said apron revolving in contact therewith; a plurality of conveyers adapted to receive the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size and to deliver said pieces between said apron V and said driving mechanism; and a plurality of receptacles arranged at varying distances from said throwing devices and adapted to catch and separate the pieces of wood of different grades of weight and density, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with means for assorting and separating the pieces of wood according to size; of the devices for throwing the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size and assorting them according to weight and density, the said throwing devices each consisting of a loose endless apron V running on three rollers arranged in a triangular form, and a rapidly revolving roller W revolving in contact with said endless apronV and adapted to throw the said pieces of Wood by centrifugal force from said apron V into receptacles provided therefor; a plurality of conveyers adapted to receive the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size, and to deliver the same to the said throwing devices between said apron V and said roller W; and a plurality of receptacles arranged at varying distances from said throwing devices and adapted to catch and separate the pieces of wood of difierent grades of weight and density, substantially as described. i

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with means for assorting and separating the pieces of wood according to size; of the devices for throwing the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size, and assorting them according to density, the said throwing devices each consisting of a loose endless apron V running on three rol1- ers arranged in a triangular form, and mechanism revolving in contact therewith for driving said apron V and for throwing said pieces of wood by centrifugal force 01f from said apron; a plurality of conveyers adapted to receive the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size and to deliver said pieces between said apron V and said driving mechanism; the hoppers K K and K adapted to receive the lightest pieces of wood; the hoppers K K and K adapted to receive heavier pieces; and the hoppers K K and K adapted to receive the heaviest pieces; an opening provided in the bottom of each hopper for the discharge of the contents thereof; and an endless apron or con veyer beneath said opening adapted to carry off the assorted pieces of wood, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with means for assorting and separating the pieces of wood according to size; of the devices for throwing the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size, and asserting them according to weight and density, the said throwing devices each consisting of a loose endless apron V running on three rollers arranged in a triangular form, and a rapidly revolving roller W revolving in con tact with said endless apronV and adapted to throw the said pieces of wood by centrifugal force from said apronVinto receptacles provided therefor; a pluralityof conveyors adapted to receive the pieces of wood previously assorted as to size, and to deliver said pieces between said apronVand said driving mechanism; the hoppers K,K and K adapted to receive the lightest pieces of wood; the hoppers K, K and K adapted to receive heavier pieces; and the hoppers K K and K adapted to receive the heaviest pieces as they are thrown; an opening provided in the bottom of each hopper for the discharge of the contents thereof; and an endless apron or conveyor beneath said opening adapted to carry off the assorted pieces of wood, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LUDYVIG PIETTE.

\Vitnesses:

ADOLPH FISCHER, CARL FISCHER. 

